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tire replacement 08 OB

Just noticed a gash on the sidewall of one of my front tires 08 OB that goes down to the steel belt layer. YIKES!
With 35K miles on the car, there is still plenty of tread on the tires.
Is it still considered a MUST to replace all 4 tires?
In replacing one or as I think you'll recommend all 4, any recommendations?
The original equipped Bridgestone Potenzas are fairly quiet compared to the very noisy but highly rated Goodyear TripleTred I installed on my 05.
Tirerack.com ratings are very low for the Potenzas.

I can only speak from my personal experience. My wife's 2003 OB Sport's left front tire was found to have multiple pieces of steel imbedded in the tread and could not be repaired. Result - 4 new tires at a cost of $600, why? Good old Big Brother and their speed ratings. Luckily? We were able to have the tire people find these "cheaper" $800 tires for us, as the OEM's were the Bridgestone Potenzas that came in at around $1000.

I can only speak from my personal experience. My wife's 2003 OB Sport's left front tire was found to have multiple pieces of steel imbedded in the tread and could not be repaired. Result - 4 new tires at a cost of $600, why? Good old Big Brother and their speed ratings. Luckily? We were able to have the tire people find these "cheaper" $600 tires for us, as the OEM's were the Bridgestone Potenzas that came in at around $800.

It's not just the speed rating, but tire size. Remember when 13" tires were only 35 buks a pop. They still are. Then manufacturers went to 14" tires, they were running about 45-50. Then they decided we should have 15" tires back in the 90's. They were typically 60-75 each. Then in the early 2000's they decided we should have 16" tires, you guessed it, 85-100 each. Then recently, we all MUST have 17" tires on factory cars. You guessed it, 100-145 a pop.

We don't need this much rubber on our cars. I think 15" is what the standard should become again.Yes you need to replace them allYes Potenzas are the CRAP of tires. CRAP. nothing good about them. The only reason they put them on is becuase Bridgestone is basically paying every car manufacturer to use their tires. This goes back to the Ford Exploder tire issue of them blwoing up, and people deciding the whole company was bad, and not worth buying their tires. so they pay companies to use them (part of the lawsuit) and try to get respect back. They are garbaage.

It's not just the speed rating, but tire size. Remember when 13" tires were only 35 buks a pop. They still are. Then manufacturers went to 14" tires, they were running about 45-50. Then they decided we should have 15" tires back in the 90's. They were typically 60-75 each. Then in the early 2000's they decided we should have 16" tires, you guessed it, 85-100 each. Then recently, we all MUST have 17" tires on factory cars. You guessed it, 100-145 a pop.

We don't need this much rubber on our cars. I think 15" is what the standard should become again.

There is quite a bit of petroleum (oil) that makes up the construction of a tire. Higher crude oil price, causes higher price for gas at the pump, same goes for tire cost.

If the gash is strictly in the rubber, and has not cut any tire cord, or cause the sidewall to bulge, I would not consider replacing the tire. There may not be structural damage to the tire. I would apply some clear silicon sealant to the tire wound, and keep an eye on it to see if any bulging appears. You may not have to spend $600 after all.

There was some stuff I found a while back, that was a vulcanizing rubber cement. You put two pieces of rubber together with it, and it would bond the outer layers in such a way that you could not take them apart without cutting them. I can't for the life of me remember what it was called or where I saw it though. :-\

Exactly how much tread is left on the tires? You may be able to find a used tire store in your area that has a tire with close to the same wear.
Unless you plan to drive 100 mph on a regular basis (I doubt it) Then the size and wear rating is the only thing that really matters for the "new" tire.

There was some stuff I found a while back, that was a vulcanizing rubber cement. You put two pieces of rubber together with it, and it would bond the outer layers in such a way that you could not take them apart without cutting them. I can't for the life of me remember what it was called or where I saw it though. :-\

Exactly how much tread is left on the tires? You may be able to find a used tire store in your area that has a tire with close to the same wear. Unless you plan to drive 100 mph on a regular basis (I doubt it) Then the size and wear rating is the only thing that really matters for the "new" tire.

I wonder if you could buy one new tire and have it shaved to match the outside diameter of the part worn ones. I think some high performance tire places offer this service.

Just freestylin' here- I don't know for a fact that you can find such a service, but it might be worth looking into.

Nathan

There is such a service, and you can, but it's not worth it unless your tires are nearly new and cost A LOT! From what I understand it's fairly expensive to have that done, mostly because of the cost of the machine they use.

need more info on the product vulcanizing cement.

I'm trying to find it. But for the life of me I can't remember what it was called. I know we have some similar stuff at work that we use with tire patches. But it's a combination of the material on the back of the patch, and the stuff that gets rubbed on that makes the patch vulcanize to the rubber. I used it to patch a nail hole that was right in the gray area between sidewall and tread in one of the tires on my truck. Been there about two years now and I've had no trouble out of it.

edit: I'm still searching for this elusive rubber cement, but I've happened across another option for you. Working at a Mercedes dealership I see some awfully expensive tires on a daily basis. $400+ in some cases. On several occasions I know we have sent tires to a local (an hour away) tire repair shop to have sidewall and large tread damage fixed. I don't know how much it costs, but it isn't too hard to find a repair shop in your area and give them a call.

Armed with a tread depth gauge, maybe you could find a used tire with the same wear as the other three. I know this was already suggested, but I remembered the tread depth gauge idea. I'd start with auto scrapyards first.
Also, the gauges measure in 32's of an inch, so it would be pretty accurate.

Bucky,Don't mean to sidetrack this thread, but responding to Bucky's message: Here is the TR link to Bridgestones. A couple of Potenza's have decent reviews. The OE tire is also listed (see last one). I have the 205/50VR17 version of the OE on my OBS. Besides the low treadwear rating, it handles well, roadnoise is a bit high. The G019 (H & V) and the RE960 have decent ratings. Also see the Discount Tire Direct site, they might be a bit higher, but with free shipping.aba